The Mark of Excellencefor over 30 Years.

Alexandria, VA Custom Home with Contemporary Mediterranean Garden

Project Description

What a great project and an even better client! Our clients at Lloyds Lane are very fashionable people with two grade school children. Their goal was to create a backyard landscape design with both traditional landscape elements and a contemporary flair to match the interior design of their home.

They wanted to fully utilize their outdoor space with a laundry list of desires that included:

All of this was to fit into a space that was 115 feet by 75 feet. Our landscape design team’s ability to put this vision into practice ultimately resulted in the creation of an award-winning backyard landscape design.

At Botanical Decorators, we can help bring your vision for the perfect landscape to life too! Contact us if you live in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC.

The Backyard Landscape Design & Outdoor Grilling Area

We began the project by incorporating a lanai into the backyard landscape design. Then, we enlarged the upper level terrace to accommodate an outdoor grilling area with custom designed and manufactured railings. A 14 ft. wide staircase serves as an open invitation to the front yard.

The outdoor grilling area is located on an oversized mid-flight landing close to the house. The 12 ft. long grilling station features Lynx appliances, as well as cooking and seating areas. Three more risers lead down to the large oval lawn panel and garden area. The lawn border provides a walkway leading to the outdoor fireplace and covered patio. A curved stucco wall successfully screens the view into the neighboring property while making a dramatic statement with its cubed cutout and a gas fire feature.

The Custom Swimming Pool

For the custom swimming pool, our landscape designers added a loving arm staircase which brings guests down an additional 2 ft. to the pool area. The pool design features a 16 by 32 ft. swimming pool and enough room for eight to dine and four to lounge. It’s anchored by a 16 ft. long stucco wall that has an 8 ft. sheer descent waterfall, visible from the house.

We also added French doors to the side of the fully finished and reconditioned garage so it could double as a pool house. An 18 ft. wide staircase descends two more feet to the garage level where a flagstone patio provides parking, as well as an overflow patio space.

If you’re interested in a custom swimming pool, we offer a wide selection of water features and fountains, in addition to the sheer descent waterfall we used in this backyard landscape design.

Landscape Plant Design

Our landscape plantings were also critical to the success of this award-winning landscape. Hedges frame the oval lawn panel and block the view of the driveway. Two large Shade Master Locust frame the view of the custom swimming pool while softening the perspective of the garage. An Arborvitae hedge anchors the pool and creates privacy. A Zelkova anchors the corner of the upper terrace. A palette of perennials, annuals, and herbs creates a colorful garden design filled with Mediterranean textures.

Project Challenges

Sustainable Landscape Elements

One of our biggest challenges at Lloyds Lane was keeping it green. To fully develop the backyard landscape we had to pull out all of the sustainable landscape tools we had.

We were over the impervious allowance by more than 50 percent. To offset this, we captured all of the roof drains and all of our patio spaces into a 1200 gallon cistern that is buried in the backyard and used for a low volume drip irrigation system. We traded out credits for the driveway, where we installed a totally pervious "Gravel Pave" system that will not compact over time and has no runoff. We also used rain barrels on the back of the garage roof. As long as we were going green, we decided to take the extra measure and use all recycled or reclaimed soils.

Retaining water into a cistern requires a complex underground maze of piping, roof washers, filters, pumps, and relief valves that all have to function flawlessly. Parts for this system came from eight vendors in five countries and took over a week for four men to install. Going green was not cheap; sustainable landscape methods added over $35,000.00 to the project's cost – but for our clients at Lloyds Lane, it was worth it!

Are you looking to give your home a face lift with a custom backyard landscape design? At Botanical Decorators, we customize every project, adding unique design features, like the covered patio, outdoor grilling area, and custom swimming pool we used for our clients on Lloyds Lane. Whether you’re looking for a backyard landscape design like this one, or have your own unique landscaping idea, we can help.

Each year, Botanical Decorators transforms backyard landscape designs throughout the DC Metropolitan Area into award-winning landscapes our clients love. If you live in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC, contact us for the backyard landscape design you’ve always wanted.

Disclosure:

The information on this website is for informational purposes only; it is deemed accurate but not guaranteed. It does not constitute professional advice. All information is subject to change at any time without notice. Contact us for complete details.